Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-CENTRAL AMERICA-UNITED STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - July 27, 2005)

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Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in vigorous opposition to this so-called ``free trade'' agreement. It is a bad agreement- bad for US workers, bad for Central American workers, bad for small farmers, bad for the environment, and bad for our economy.

The proponents of this deal point not to facts, but to predictions. They talk about projected growth and theorize that our Central American neighbors will enjoy increased living standards and a better future.

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We don't have to consult a crystal ball to see what effect CAFTA will have on the lives of American and Central American citizens. We have an example before us, it is called NAFTA. CAFTA is a junior version of NAFTA; it is quite literally the ``Son of NAFTA''.

Ask the people of Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Oklahoma, or any other State that saw factories shuttered if they have benefited from NAFTA.

Ask the people of Mexico who have dirtier air, dirtier water, little collective bargaining rights, and are now watching their new factories close and move across the Pacific if they have benefited from NAFTA.

If you can look at the results of NAFTA and think our quality of life has improved; if you think there are more and better jobs post-NAFTA than before; if you think Mexico is on the verge of joining the ranks of the G-8, then CAFTA is the trade agreement for you.

Evaluate carefully the claims which will be made about CAFTA. For example, we have heard that CAFTA will open important markets for U.S. goods. Sound familiar? As we learned from NAFTA, if labor standards are not improved as part of these Agreements, few workers in these markets will be able to afford our goods.

We make cars and trucks in my home State of Michigan. American auto manufacturers are currently putting over $1,400 of health care costs into each American-made car. Yet the average Nicaraguan worker earns only about $2,300 a year. Yes, that's for an entire year.

While the rising health care burden on American manufacturing is an important issue for another day, it illustrates the absurdity of the claims that new markets will be flooded with American products. How many cars or computers can we reasonably expect to sell in these new markets?

Instead of raising the living standards of people in Central America, CAFTA will accelerate a race to the bottom. Instead of creating new, high value jobs in the United States, CAFTA will only replace good jobs with unemployment checks.

I urge all my colleagues not only to read the details of this deal, but also to look around. Look at the closed factories, talk to unemployed manufacturing workers, and remember the promise of NAFTA.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I can think of no better distillation of my vote against CAFTA than the old saying, ``Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'' I urge my colleagues not to be fooled again.

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